Judges revise murder sentence
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the murder conviction of a defendant who killed a Bloomington man in response to a sexual assault, but found the circumstances around the killing warranted a lesser sentence.
Murder
Articles
Supreme Court upholds refusal to give jury instruction
The Indiana Supreme Court has adopted the full opinion of the Indiana Court of Appeals, which upheld the decision by a trial court not to give a defendant’s tendered instructions on lesser-included offenses of murder.
COA finds man initiated communication with detective
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of a defendant’s motion to suppress an incriminating statement to a detective because the defendant initiated the discussion and understood his Miranda rights before speaking.
Judges affirm denial of post-conviction relief
The Indiana Court of Appeals declined to find an attorney provided ineffective assistance of trial counsel to a man on trial for the second time because that attorney didn’t defend the case in the same manner as did the attorney on the first trial.
Justices decline Camm prosecutor case
The Indiana Supreme Court decided Tuesday it will not disturb the ruling by the Indiana Court of Appeals that Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson can’t be involved in the retrial of David Camm. Camm is set to be tried for a third time for the murders of his wife and two children.
Ruling leads to questions about pregnant women’s rights
The Indiana Court of Appeals was asked on interlocutory appeal to determine whether the Marion Superior Court erred in denying bail for Bei Bei Shuai, a woman being held on charges of attempted feticide and murder.
Court split on dismissing murder, attempted feticide charges
In a case of first impression involving a mother who ingested rat poison in an attempt to kill herself and her unborn child, one Indiana Court of Appeals judge felt that if the feticide statute is applied to women’s prenatal conduct, it might lead to a “slippery slope” in which a full range of a woman’s conduct while pregnant could fall under the feticide statute.
Appellate court affirms murder conviction; reverses on corpse abuse conviction
The erroneous admission at trial of a statement a man made to police unquestionably influenced the jury verdicts regarding his convictions of burglary and abuse of a corpse, causing the Indiana Court of Appeals to reverse those convictions. But the COA affirmed his conviction of and sentence for murder.
Justices reverse determinate commitment
In a three-page per curiam opinion released Wednesday by the Indiana Supreme Court, the justices reversed a juvenile’s determinate commitment to the Department of Correction for committing what would be felony murder if committed by an adult.
COA affirms murder conviction
The Indiana Court of Appeals found the state presented sufficient substantive evidence to establish that a man killed his sister’s boyfriend while staying in her apartment.
AG wants justices to consider prosecutor disqualification
Arguing that prosecutors must face an actual conflict of interest before they can be removed from a case, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General wants the state justices to take the high-profile case of a former state trooper being tried for murders that happened more than a decade ago.
Appellate court upholds murder conviction
The Indiana Court of Appeals found the circumstantial evidence presented at trial was sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that a man killed his wife.
COA orders special prosecutor in Camm trial
The county prosecutor who signed and later cancelled a book deal about his involvement in the murder trial of David Camm will not be allowed to serve as prosecutor at Camm’s third trial.
Defendants not negligent in father’s suicide, murder of daughter
A father’s decision to crash a plane his daughter was in – killing them both – superseded any negligence that may be attributed to his flight instructor or other defendants in a wrongful death action, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Thursday.
Supreme Court upholds life without parole sentence
The Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed a man’s murder and robbery convictions and left in place his sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Justices accept 2 cases, decline feticide case
The Indiana Supreme Court has taken two cases and declined to accept more than two dozen petitions seeking transfer.
COA: Man wasn’t denied fair trial by judge
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a man’s attempted murder conviction, finding the trial judge did not act in a way to deny the defendant a fair trial.
Judges to go to Oakland City for arguments
Indiana Court of Appeals judges Melissa May, Michael Barnes and Terry Crone will hear a convicted murderer’s appeal for post-conviction relief at Oakland City University Oct. 19.
Appellate judges will hear arguments in East Chicago
A panel of Indiana Court of Appeals judges will travel to northern Indiana Thursday to hear the appeal of a man convicted of attempted murder.
Justices uphold murderer’s convictions
The Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed that a man will serve life in prison without parole for his role in the murders of seven people in Indianapolis in 2006.